As my dh reminds me each October and Christmas time, I am boring with my wants. They're most often books, sometimes movies, rarely anything else. :D Specifically my list this year includes: Harpers Magazine either a single issue so I can check it out, or a subscription. 1001 Books to read... book (on sale at Amazon, good time to buy!) HG Wells book (any of the titles I don't already own) North & South DVD 3rd season Hamish Macbeth DVD set Foyles War DVD's Journey CD I would be happy with any one of these items. I've even suggested Dh bravely choose me a book/movie/cd he *thinks* I'll enjoy based on things he already knows I like. He almost hyperventilated at that. :lol:

That's my concern too, that I'll lose comprehension of what I'm trying to read if I speed up. I just wish I could read faster so I can read more More MORE! :blink:

I counted the words on a page of the book I mentioned in my original post, it's just over 400 words. That took me right about one and a half minutes... so there's clearly room for improvement. I think I'd like to get to at least 400 words a minute, average book I can then presume 1 page = 1 minute.

I had no idea until I saw this post. I quickly switched the evening news on but it's all the same old talk about Christmas shopping *sigh* I'm checking newsites online now, it looks horrendous :(

No joke around here! I buy a few large turkey's this time of year to use through out the coming months. They're cheaper than chicken. ;) Roast, eat some, freeze the rest in meal size portions for use in pies, soups, enchilada's... whatever. Make stock from the carcass. It's good stuff.

WOW! *thunk* that's the sound of my brain clunking to a complete halt ;) I read a lot but I don't think my speed has improved since my teens. Any tips?

Did you time yourself? I know what you mean about having a stack of books to be read. I'm the same with too many books not enough time and my dh asked me last night if I'd considered learning speed reading.

I wouldn't. My dd has one with similar material combo and I sponge clean it then fluff in the dryer on cool or air.

How fun is that, she's really absorbing what she reads. I don't know that I do that with books but when I was about 14 I spent a week in Yorkshire with my Grandmother and her extended family. By the end of the visit I was throwing a lot of Aye's and lass's into my speech. *UGH* I just cringe about it now thinking how riduculous I sounded! :blush:

I'd go with the cookie paddle and pulse the power rather than leave it turning continuously. (I make mine in a food processor using the pulse method, just until the dough binds together.) HTH

How fast do you read based on speed per page of a novel such as Woman in White (picked this example because it's the reader group choice of the moment). I would like to increase my reading speed but not lose retention or comprehension... those are dodgy enough for me at the best of times already! ;) I'm just wondering whether I'm average or below for speed of reading. Okay.. just timed myself and I seem to be around one and a half minutes per page, slower if it's a dull descriptive passage.

I think the tally is about 30 people at MIL's (next door). Everyone is assigned some type of food to bring so it's a fairly easy gathering. Dd's cooking the turkey, I'm doing bread and biscuits, ds is doing green bean casserole.... and I have no idea what everyone else will bring, lots of soup smothered vegetables probably. :ack2: Dh and I have made a pact to hit the dessert table first this year :D

I have The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher from the library at the moment but have yet to even glance it. Of course it came after a veeeeeeery long wait and I've got a bunch of other books I'm halfway through, I don't want to stop those to start Mr. Whicher. To see it on your list of top 5 makes me want to get started on it right away though. Ack! *mumbling to self "be strong, finish at least one of the others first... be strong"*

I always have a difficult time answering questions like this. What I may list as my fav. 5 now is only so because I've not read others that may knock them off the list. And life events and mood are such a huge factor in reading for me. I might enjoy a book purely for how I was feeling at the time I read it; escapism reading is a good example. 1. Madam Bovary by Gustav Flaubert. - Reminded me not to live in the dream world of books I mentioned in my statement above :tongue_smilie: 2. The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom - Powerful message of faith and love in desperately difficult situations. 3. The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien - Escapism in a fantasticly created fictional world. Love it. 4. War of the Worlds by HG Wells (or The Time Machine... but I prefer WotW) - The passivity of the population until they're pulled directly into the action just wows me. The tale always seems a simple easy read but for me it speaks volumes. 5. I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak - A message of "Just do it!" you'll learn and grow, especially if it's something you tried hard to avoid havng to do at first. I just love Zusak's writing. Phew, that was hard! I don't read much non-fiction so my list is biased towards novels.

:grouphug: right back at'ya! We *will* find our Christmas joy again! Somewhere...

Yes, that's it. The recipe I use includes potatoes. I think the basic recipe is easily adaptable for any ingredients you'd prefer to include. I got the recipe from Cooking Light Magazine many years ago. Here's a copy of it online... Chicken Corn Chowder

Chicken corn chowder. Yum! I made some for dinner last night, and we had enough for tonights dinner as well. It's a rich tasting meal without being expensive.

I don't know what's wrong with me this year. Normally I love the Christmas season... the songs, the baking, the decorations, everything. We never go overboard on gifts but I try to make a special time with my children in other ways. My kids know that by this time of year I'm usually listening to my music and itching to put some sparkly lights up. This year? *blah* I couldn't care less about any of it. Not even a little bit. There is no negative feeling at all, it's more like Christmas doesn't even exist or is 20 years away and not even a thought in my mind yet. Having said that, I already bought the family gift (Wii package) a few months ago. As for the rest of it? *shrug*

Yes, loads... I'm also in NC! Hey... I just realized we must live near each other. I'm at the edge of W-S/Kernersville/Walkertown. I always had in my mind that you were closer to Raleigh or middle of the state or something. It's not just local layoffs either, but companies located here laying off workers in other parts of the country/world. (Dh's workplace for example). Dh works in Greensboro. His workplace closed an entire branch in Charlotte two weeks ago and 100 workers were let go in England this week. They've also called a complete hiring freeze, freeze on all potential wage increases, and stopped matching 401K contributions. That's on top of layoffs and changes that happened earlier this year. It's not a happy place right now!

We've got a Wii as a family gift this year. The children will also each recieve a book, some edible treats, and something personal.. probably pj's for the boys and alarm clock for Dd who can't get out of bed on time most mornings ;)

I love Scotland. I love the history, the accent, the weather (Yes, really!), the beauty of the landscape there, and I could go on and on, but I won't. Okay, I've said it once and now I shall try and refrain from telling you that again each time you post a Scotland picture. :D I don't see any slits or windows to show this as a fort or home of any sort. Flat on top and looks as though it is attached to a wall towards the back? Hmmm... It's going to drive me crazy all day wondering what it is!

That I didn't let my dh name our first child? :tongue_smilie: Dh had been reading a lot of Louis L'Amour books when I was preggy with our first child. We were sure the baby was a boy and dh wanted to call him Barnabas. (My brother had a bunny named Barnabas!). Thankfully the baby turned out to be a girl :) Our children are Kelsey Jade, Zachary Adam, and Jacob Alexander.

My dh chose this as his song from him to me. Actually, two songs from the same album but the first is the one he considers 'our song'. He listened to this over and over all those lonely months we were an entire ocean apart. Forever Yours by Tony Terry Lovey Dovey by Tony Terry

Obviously I don't find it offensive... note my screen name. :D

The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom.